My garage door is frozen to the ground

Likely causes, most common first

A door that will not budge on a freezing morning is usually stuck at the floor, though a few other faults look the same.

1. Most common

   The bottom seal froze to the concrete

   The sign: The opener strains or quits the moment the door starts up, and a ridge of ice shows where the rubber meets the slab.

   The fix: Free the seal, replace it if it tore, and deal with any low spot that keeps collecting water at the door. Garage Door Weather Seal and Threshold Replacement, from $149

2. Common

   Ice is binding the tracks or rollers

   The sign: The bottom breaks loose, but the door jerks, hangs up partway, or a roller sits frozen in its track instead of turning.

   The fix: Clear the tracks, replace rollers with seized or cracked bearings, and lubricate with a product that stays workable in the cold. Garage Door Roller and Hinge Replacement, from $199

3. Common

   The opener already fought the ice and lost

   The sign: Once the door is free, the opener hums without lifting, stops at odd heights, or reverses where it never used to.

   The fix: Set the up and down limits and the force again, and replace a stripped drive gear if the motor took the strain. Garage Door Opener Repair, from $149

4. Less common

   A spring broke and the weather is getting the blame

   The sign: The seal is clear of the slab yet the door will not rise, and the coiled spring above the header has a clean two-inch split in it.

   The fix: Fit a new spring sized for this door, and look the lift cables over before it runs again. Garage Door Spring Replacement, from $249

What you can safely check in two minutes

Before heating, scraping or calling, find out what is actually holding the door down.

• From inside, look along the bottom edge for a ridge of ice gluing the rubber to the slab, or a puddle that froze against the door.
• Check the wall console for a lit lock or vacation light, which stops the opener as surely as ice does.
• Scan the coils over the door for a two-inch break before blaming the weather.
• Shine a flashlight up both side tracks, looking for frozen slush, ice buildup or a roller that will not turn.
• If the opener is dark, check the breaker and whether the street has power.

How to free a frozen bottom seal without tearing it

Warm the ice rather than the door, and coax the rubber loose a little at a time.

1. Soften the ice with gentle heat

   Run a hair dryer, or a heat gun on its lowest setting, along the bottom edge from inside, or pour lukewarm water along the seal from outside. Skip propane torches and boiling water, which blister paint and can warp vinyl.

2. Pry with plastic, never steel

   Slide a plastic putty knife or ice scraper between the rubber and the concrete and work it along the width. A shovel blade or chisel slices the seal and chips the slab.

3. Dry the concrete before dark

   Squeegee the meltwater out onto the driveway and wipe the strip of floor where the seal rests. Any water left there refreezes overnight into the same bond.

4. Run the door once and watch it

   Plug the opener back in and run one cycle while you stand clear. If it strains, stalls or reverses, unplug it and call.

Why Portland garage doors freeze to the floor

It takes water at the door plus a night below freezing, and the metro gets that combination more often than its mild reputation suggests.

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put the low at 32 degrees or colder on about 32 nights in an average year at the Portland airport, and about 45 at Vancouver's Pearson Field. When one follows a wet afternoon, the puddle sitting against the seal sets like glue by morning.

Freezing rain is worse. In February 2021, freezing rain glazed roads, trees and power lines, and by one Saturday morning more than 270,000 people around Portland had no power. On one afternoon of the January 2024 storm, more than 135,000 Oregon homes and businesses sat without electricity.

Our ice storm guide covers getting ready before November: a fresh seal, a dry threshold and a plan for opening the door by hand.

What tears when a frozen door gets forced

The seal tears first; after that, the top panel and the gears inside the opener take the abuse if someone keeps pressing the button.

Rubber frozen to concrete rips along its length or pulls out of its retainer, leaving a strip stuck to the floor. That is the least costly damage and usually a same-visit replacement.

The opener pulls the door through a bracket on the top section. Against a door that will not move, that pull can bow the top panel or tear its fasteners loose, which calls for a reinforcing strut or a new section.

A frozen door with sound springs is in no danger by itself. The damage comes from force, so patience with a hair dryer pays off.

When to stop thawing and call

Hand it over if the bottom edge is free and any of these are still true.

• The door will not rise even though the seal has let go of the slab.
• One of the springs over the door has split apart, or a lift cable dangles loose.
• The top section is bowed where the opener arm attaches.
• The opener hums, clicks or reverses now that the ice is gone.

Related pages

Repairs, symptoms and guides that connect to this page.